C—4c

4

]1. Golden Treasure Coal-mine, Reef ton, is now at work on a small scale. 12. Lunkey's Gully Coal-mine, Reefton. —On the With August, 1885, this mine was last visited. The coal was faulty, and;, as usual, a new drive had been put in. Timber very good. The workings have since been stopped. 13. Inkermann Coal-mine, Reefton, was visited on the 19th August, 1885, at which time the workings were in good order, but too much ground appeared to be open on timber. The seam dips at an angle of 60°. On the 2nd October I wrote requesting attention to this source of danger; and on the 2nd April, 1886, found that still more ground had been left standing. The reason given by the manager is this : that no filling can be obtained. Certainly no mine could be better timbered or worked, and, as the manager has in places lathed and filled in a set, I suggested that it would be advisable to support the roof in this manner. An excessive quantity of powder was allowed in the mine. 14. Billett's Coal-mine, Boatman's. —Mr. J. Billett started this mine in the winter of 1885 ; but its life was very short, which was a good thing, as the works were badly carried out, and might have resulted in injury. 15. Boatman's Coal-mine, Boatman's. —On the 21st August, 1885, very little was being done here, and on the Ist April last the workings were in better order than usual. 16. Burke's Coal-mine, Boatman's. —This mine is worked in an 18ft. 6in. seam in Little Boatman's Creek, and for a good many years the output has been exceedingly small. The workings, however, are in good order, and the owner seems to have an intelligent plan of future operations. 17. Phoenix Coal-mine, Reefton. —Two inspections of this undertaking have been made. On the former occasion—Bth August, 1885 —two boys were amusing themselves in the mine, one in a very insecure place. On the latter occasion—2nd April, 1886—the workings were an enormous width, standing on timber. Of course, when the timber becomes rotten the collapse of the mine is inevitable. 18.' Brunner Coal-mine, Greymouth. —The output from this mine has greatly increased during the past year, Mr. Bishop having succeeded in attaining an output of six figures. Unfortunately, the coal beyond the fault, past which it has been proved for twenty chains, has turned out to be, though pretty good in quality, only about Bft. thick, or half its former thickness. Gas still exists in some portions of the mine, which are worked with safety-lamps.. Most of the pillars in the rise have been worked out, and a very considerable proportion of the coal has been obtained. As a fault has been met with in the rise-level, the available quantity of coal in this district is small. A somewhat unusual, though not very extensive, outburst of gas took place in this portion of the mine, which, had the men been working with open lights, might have had disastrous results. In November last I found a boy to whom Special Rules had not been supplied, and some men using iron bars for the first tamping. At that time the air in the fault-district was sluggish, and the men complained of powder-smoke. In fact, the ventilation generally has become slack, and some change will bo necessary. Mr. Bishop proposes to remove the fan. A system of haulage which is new to the colony has been introduced at this colliery : this is the endless rope used as a tail-rope. It works very well on the lower level for a distance of twenty-seven chains, and will, no doubt, be continued. 19. Coalpit Heath Colliery, Greymouth. —During the year all the workings in this mine have been to the dip, as the fault has barred further progress on the level. The company have replaced the old pumping-gear by a "Special" pump, the exhaust steam from which escapes into the return and materially assists the ventilation. In September, 1885, I examined the old workings without discovering gas. During this month the mine-mouth was left partially unfenced, and a tub fell down : notwithstanding this accident, the shaft was insufficiently fenced at the time of my last visit—in April, 1886. The custom cf unhooking the engine-plane set while the tubs are in motion is not very safe; and in October, 1885, I sent Mr. Alexander a sketch of a jockey, or automatic detaching apparatus, which has not as yet been adopted. In November last some of the bords were very much too wide; but in April this defect was less noticeable. At the time of my inspection in April last the air was very good, the Schiele fan which Mr. Alexander has erected having turned out a complete success. The quantity of air in the return from the dipworkings was 31,548 cubic feet per minute; and the total return on another occasion was 35,765 cubic feet per minute. The wooden stoppings are still in places defective, but are being gradually replaced by stone walls. A new head-gear has become necessary as the old timber is worn out, and the manager is taking steps to replace it. 20. Tyneside Colliery, Greymouth. —-A short distance above the old Wallsend No. 1 Colliery (tabulated in the returns for 1882 as No. 2), where the coal is faulted down to the south-east, and dips E. 20° S. at 1 in 3J, there is an old drive, a little above ordinary riverlevel, which was worked a few years ago. Messrs. Kilgour and Wickes have leased this area from the Westport Coal Company, and continued the old drive. As the adit was below floodlevel, and the coal turned out, as was naturally-to be expected, somewhat faulted, the owners decided to work the lease by means of the old Wallsend No. 1 shaft, which they cleaned out, and at which substantial engines, screens, head-gear, &c, are in readiness. An unfortunate misunderstanding with the Railway Department as to the location of the screens has stopped operations for the present, and in April last nothing was being done.