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Christies Colliery.—-A party of eight miners was engaged during the year in extracting the pillars from the above freehold mine. The mine section on the flat under the creek was abandoned early in the year. The rise section on the hillside was rapidly depillared and all plant withdrawn at the end of the year. The total output from the mine was 48,657 tons. Phoenix Colliery (MeKinlay's Crown Lease). —The pillars were extracted from the rise workings, and the 3 ft. seam was followed to the dip in order to provide another working-section. The roof is remarkably hard, requiring little timber in support. The seam is almost level, but has local rolls. The cover varies from outcrop to 60 ft. An output of 3,407 tons was produced during the year. Ruatangata Colliery, Kama. —The main headings have been continued through the old standing pillars of the Kamo Mine workings. An old shaft to the surface was intersected, repaired, and reconnected to the mine-workings for ventilating purposes and as a third means of escape for the workmen. Twenty tons of coal per day have been produced during the year by ten men employed underground. Tauranga Block, Muir's Coal Mine (Sublease, Wilson's Collieries, Ltd.). —Operations have been carried on in a new piece of coal-bearing land situated along the Marua Road boundary. The seam is 4 ft. in thickness, and contains numerous intermittent streaks of stony coal. It was evidently left as unworkable by previous prospectors on the area. Tauranga Block (J. Cunningham and Party).—A party of five miners was engaged in extracting several pillars of shallow coal during the stoppage of mining operations at the Hikurangi Shaft Colliery. An output of 715 tons was returned for two months' work. Tauranga Block (G. Windress and Party).—Several isolated pillars were recovered from a thin coal area along the northern boundary of the block. The workings were safely maintained. Hikurangi Coal Co. Freehold Block (Sublease, Coutt's Colliery).—A party of four miners successfully obtained 2,000 tons as a result of prospecting and mining out thin coal-blocks left by a former working. The workings were maintained in good order, and adequate supplies of timber were kept at the mine for use in timbering the soft roof. Hikurangi Coal Co. Freehold Block (Sublease, May Mine, owned by Newby and Party).—The worked coal-seam averaged 2 ft. in thickness, and a portion of the floor had to be lifted to afford height for the skips. The places were well timbered, and the faces were maintained in a safe condition. Eight miners were employed, for the production of an output which barely returned minimum wages. Hikurangi Coal Co. Freehold Block (Sublease, Laird's Mine, Waro). —Subsequent to the testing of the area by boreholes drilled over ground likely to contain unworked patches of coal, the party opened a water-free drive to reach a 4 ft. seam of coal. An output of 461 tons was produced in three months under safe roof-conditions. Hikurangi Coal Co. Freehold Block (Sublease, Craig's Coal-mine). —A party of three miners opened out a small area of thin coal near the northern boundary of the lease. The timber was badly set, and insufficient batter was provided in the cuttings leading to the new entrance. The future prospects are not favourable for getting coal under profitable conditions. Hikurangi Coal Co. Freehold Block, Cook's Coal Mine. —A small output was obtained from an area along the fringe of an outcrop of inferior coal. A road for access by motor-lorry was formed to connect the mine to the main county road at Waro. Hikurangi Coal Co. Freehold Block, Jubilee. No. 3 Coal-mine (owned by Wilson and Party).—The mine is situated within 1 chain of the Main North Road. A dip drive is proceeding in clean coal 4 ft. in thickness. Hikurangi Coal Co. Freehold Block, Fearnley's Coal-mine. —Operations during the year were confined to the bottom seam of the old Rocks Coal-mine. The top seam was previously worked out by Kerr and party. The seam is 6 ft. in thickness, and the workings have exposed a considerable area of easity-mined coal, available for extraction under safe conditions. Six miners are employed. The output is conveyed to the Hikurangi Shaft Colliery for power purposes in dewatering the Shaft Colliery. Jackson's Roclcs Colliery (McLeod's Freehold). —A small output was obtained from a dip drive set off to win a barrier of shallow solid coal lying against a fault. The drive was badly timbered, and one of the miners was seriously injured due to the collapse of the timber supporting the dip roof. Dunn and Steers Coal-mine (Crown Lease, Scenic Reserve). —Operations by the party are being conducted near the main North Road boundary of the scenic reserve. A limited area of unbroken ground as evidenced by surface subsidences is available for mining. The seam is 10 ft. in thickness, and the party should obtain at least 2,000 tons from this prospected area. Mclness's Coal-mine (Crown Lease, Marua Road). —Development work to connect a mine to the main Marua Road has been carried on during the year. A surface tramway was laid down, and two separate mine sections have been opened out to win shallow areas of proved soft coal. Cherrie and Party's Coal-mine (Crown Lease). —The party was engaged in driving through several falls in an attempt to reach an area of coal unaffected by operations on the field conducted by the Northern Coal Co. twenty years ago. The drive is properly timbered with sets suitably joggled and lathed to carry the weight of the broken ground. New Kirikapa Coal-mine (Webber and Party).—A small output was obtained during the summer months from an area of rise ground on the Ngungaru Hill. The seam is 4 ft. thick, and the coal is of good quality. The output was carted to Whangarei, a distance of ten miles by road. Olenbervie Colliery (owned by J. Doel). —The coal-seam has been followed for a distance of 8 chains along the foot of the hills on Douglas's estate. The seam has an average height of 6 ft. The coal is clean, and of good quality. The seam lies fairly level, and the roof cover is increasing under the hill. The owner of the mine is contemplating the construction of 80 chains of a motor road, in place of the tramway, which carries a way-leave royalty of Is. per ton. Harrison's Waro Colliery.—This colliery worked intermittently during the year due to lack of demand. The working-seam averages 7 ft. in height in the northern section, where six bords have been opened out through the fault. The shaft and roadways are properly equipped, and could deal with an output of 150 tons per day. A coca Coal-mine.—This colliery is situated on rise ground at Avoca, six miles from Tangowahine. A party of eight Hikurangi miners opened out the seam and followed the coal-fioor for a distance of 90 ft. on level course. The headings in all directions struck soft coal with a high water content, which causes it to disintegrate freely. Mining operations were discontinued on the 31st March, and the plant was subsequently removed from the mine. Whareora Coal-mine. —At the end of the year W. H. Higgins secured a lease of 100 acres of proved coal land from the Whareora Coal Co., situated on Section 71, Parish of Parahaki, eight miles from Whangarei. A considerable amount of boring and prospecting had been done on the property by the Whareora Coal Co. twenty years ago. The present lessee has opened" out a 6 ft. seam which contains an intervening band of shale 1 ft. thick occurring in the centre. Prospects of discovering cleaner coal ahead are promising. Waikato District. Rotmvaro Collieries (Taupiri Coal-mines, Ltd., Owners). —Coal has been produced from three mine sections — namely, No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 sections. The total output was 143,163 tons. In No. I Mine section the developing headings have been advanced to reach a thick seam area to the south of the main haulage road, and operations are proceeding apace to extend the main endless haulage road to within easy distance of the advanced sections. The seam has an average height of 18 ft. with few regular partings. The roof-cover, of jointy fireclay, averages 100 ft. over the mined area. Electric safety-lamps are used throughout the mine section, and stonedust is applied in treatment of the dry coal-dust. In No. 2 Mine section an output of 100 tons per day is being obtained from bords in the top seam under ideal working-conditions as regards safety and cost of production. No. 3 Mine section has been equipped with an endless rope haulage road to deal with an increasing output from the machine-mined sections. The seam is 20 ft. thick, In certain sections of the workings the

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