TAUPIRI COAL MINES.

Waikato Times, Volume XX, Issue 1684, 21 April 1883, Page 3

TAUPIRI COAL MINES.

A cokrkhi'ondknt at Huntly writes to «8':-r~A3 this miuo supplies most of the house cdul consumed in Auckland, also the different settlements on the line, steamers, and locomotives, and manufactories too munerous to mention, besides supplying the Newton Pottery with fireclay, &c, a brief description of how the coal is got and won may be of interest. Mnchwiry for winding. — This is done by an engine connected with two iron drums. Attached to each drum are two wire ropes ; eacli drum can act separately ; they can both be in gear at one time, or one can be in gear and the other left out ; so that one can go down while the other is coming up, or they can both go down together, or both come up together. The Down Mill is 600 feet loug, 10 feet wide, and six feet high, grade, one foot six inches, and timbeied with kauri sets, and puriri slabs. There is a double line ot rails laid to haul the coal up. There are three separate sidings that the engine hauls from, one at 400 feet, one at 500 feot, and one at 600 feet. The trucks hold 10 cwt. of coal, and the engine hauls six of these at a time. The end of the farthest heading is ] 600 feet from the opening or daylight. These headings aie driven on end of coal, and the boids at riirht angles to the headings arc driven fiom 12 to 27 feet in height, and fiom l.~> to 16 feet wide. The bords require to le holed at least five feet, and sheared the same distance to make large lumply coal, and then shot down with blasting powder, and this is partly the reason these mines supply such large coal as can be seen going away any working day. Pumping Machine)-;/ and if haft. — A. Tangye engine with 10 iii'cfi cylinder ami pump iim., pumps the v r ater up the shaft. The engine iss connected with a boiler outside by steam pipes GOO feet long, and it throws the water a vertical rise up the shaft about lIS feet. Ths water-pipes aie 4 inches in diameter and stayed with 8 x 0 kauri buntings. The shaft is round, 3 feet 3 inches in diameter, cased with bricks down to the coal, which shows 4.") feet in thickness. The output for the year I&S2 was, per laihvay, 23,22!) tons 10 cwt of coal and fireclay ; per river, 1923 tons ; coal consumed by engines, 22S tons 10 cwt, making n total of 23.351 tons, beside the slack pitched dow n the bank. The largest output for one month was in June, when 2GG3 tons 10 cwt was taken out. This was done by 40 inun and i boys, inside and out. The coal •\\ as put into the siding at Huntly station, and the mine worked '23 days only. The largest output for one day was on the 22nd December, when 225 tons was haulod out. The company's mine engineer and manager is Mr William Collins, who has been here five ycais, and there has been no demand but has been satisfied since lie took charge. The safe way the mine has been woikrd up to the piesent is creditable not only to the manager, but to the men employed as \\ ell.