C.—2.

Coal Greek Flat Pit.—The top portion of the thick seam is being worked at the north-east corner of this iarge pit. The face there is 12 ft. high and the lignite is being mined with hammer and wedges and without the use of explosives. A small output is also being won from the lower portion of the pit. Sufficient hydraulic stripping has been done for several years' output, and only the top portion of the seam has been won from an area of about 2 acres where there is still from 15 ft. to 30 ft. of lignite to be got. Two hydraulic nozzles are used for stripping. Shepherd's Creelc Mine. —The bottom south level has been extended through some of the old workings, and it is again approaching an old drive. When that is holed into, pillar-extraction will be commenced, for which a large supply of prop-timber is on hand. Nevis Crossing Pit.—One man is employed intermittently getting household coal. Freeman's Mine.—Four miners are on pillar-extraction and are coming back quickly with the small pillars. Owing to a heaving floor "brushing" has to be (jlone either in the floor or the roof of some of the trucking roads. The working-places are being well supported by blue-gum props, and many of the timber sets along the main level have been renewed lately. The goaf is closing nicely and there is no sign of heating now. Jubilee Mine. —The upper north levels were approaching old workings and were stopped and a small section of pillars worked back to within a chain of the crosscut. In the lower north levels the eoal again thickened to 7 ft., so they were extended until the faces were 11 chains from the main dip. As sufficient output could be got from the south workings, those on the north side are temporarily stopped. In the upper south workings six solid places are being worked towards the boundary; these will last only another three months. Five miners are splitting pillars below and three are on pillar-extraction. Some of the upper south places were within 5 chains of the old No. 4 section workings which were pillared about four years ago. A couple of pillars were extracted and on the 19th October an inflow of water came from this pillared area and submerged the small electrically-driven pump. This has since been recovered, and the water, having pined off, is now causing no trouble. McMaster's Saddle Hill Pit. —This pit is near the old Saddle Hill workings of many years ago. The 5 ft. seam of coal is outcropping north of an old fallen-in drive where an underground fire has burned most of the nearby coal. A face of about 30 yards in length has been stripped of the 6 ft. of gravel and clay overburden. Willowbank Mine.—The prospect drive to the west proved very disappointing, the upper seam—met about 2 chains in—being only about 3 ft. in thickness. After driving a short distance farther a downthrow fault was met. A borehole was then put down 44 ft., but no coal was found. After driving a few yards to the east the the small amount of pillar-coal was then worked back. Pillaring was continued in the main section and the pillars were extracted to within 5 chains of the mine-entrance. Then a slant dip was commenced about 31 chains down the main dip, and at an angle of about 60 degrees. Two chains down very troubled country was met and later a downthrow fault. Beyond that fault a good seam of coal 12 ft. thick was proven. The dip is now down 5 chains, and is still in good coal. Levels have been driven to the north-east and are now in 5 chains from the slant dip, and a return to the rise has been completed. Waronui Mine. —The small section to the rise of the old No. 1 Mine proved very disappointing. The main dip was driven over 1,000 ft. and reached soft mushy eoal about 5J ft. thick. A small section was worked to the north-west and also reached soft coal, so the pillars were split. The roadways were constantly heaving, entailing many renewals of timber supports. A large fall occurred in the main return-airway in September, and the workings became filled with blackdamp. In endeavouring to complete another return-airway the mine-manager and one of the miners were asphyxiated by the blackdamp. The small amount of workable coal remaining did not warrant the expenditure necessary to put the mine in order, so no further work was done. The prospect drive, on the west side of the railway-line, was continued to 960 ft. and, proving no coal, was abandoned in December. It was then decided to sell all the mining plant and gear. Viewbank Mine.- —No work has been done at this mine during the year. Elliotvale Mine. —The level to the west nearing the outcrop was stopped. To the south a dip has been driven about thirty yards in fairly good coal. The small amount of water which accumulates there has to be baled out, as they have no pump. Reid's Mine, LovelVs Flat.—This old lignite mine was reopened by two Waronui miners. They commenced driving to the west out of an old level and cleaned up some old workings, but the lignite was very soft. On 11th December they notified me that they were giving up mining there, and have since applied for a coal lease over an area near the Waronui Mine. Taratu Mine. —The output was again solely from pillar-extraction in Barclay's section. Three pairs of miners are on the east side pillars which may last another six months. A small area on the west side was sealed off last year owing to heating. Two concrete and two ash-and-block stoppings were built to seal off the inby portion of the heated ground. Miners will soon commence to pillar the cooled area outby those stoppings. A new dip drive, 6J ft. by 6| ft. at a grade of lin 4s, is now being driven into an area between Barclay's section and the old Shaft section. The main seam was proven by hand boreholes to be 14 ft. thick and it is expected that the drive will reach the seam at 700 ft. The dip is now down 4| chains, and is in line with the first portion of the surface haulage-road. The formation for the extension of the haulageroad is now being made. Lakeside Mine. —No further work was done in the stone drive in which the large fall occurred last year, but instead a crosscut is being driven from the bottom of the main dip to connect with east workings inby, and thus shorten the trucking-road. The crosscut, now in 200 ft., is rising at a grade of lin 4J. At 80 ft. a downthrow fault was crossed and the place has another 60 ft. to go to hole through. Coal-production has been continued from the south levels, which are now in 11 chains from the main dip, and from a few places to the rise. Wangaloa Mine.—The main level reached the northern boundary of the lease when 5 chains in, so had to be deflected to the west. Soon after it holed into Gage's old workings and, being continued, reached the west boundary when 8 chains in. The pillars are now being extracted from the north-west corner of the lease. Soon it is intended to prospect in a small hill south of the present mine, where it is anticipated there is a small area of workable coal. Kaitangata No. 1 Mine. —Most of the output was produced from the No. 2 section of the No. 1 seam. Development was continued to the east by extending Kyle's dip, the former back heading to Newburn's dip. Kyle's dip was stopped in coal 6 ft. thick when it was 21 chains down from where the coal was first met in the No. 2 section. In the lower north levels off Kyle's dip the seam gradually thinned so those levels were stopped. The face of Fuller's dip, going south-east and 7 chains from that of Kyle's dip, was showing 6 ft. of coal when it was stopped, but the bottom south level off Fuller's dip entered coal only 4 ft. thick when only a chain in from the dip. O'Fee's dip, also going south-east and 9 chains from Fuller's dip, was stopped when 12£ chains down in thinning coal with a very tender roof. Pillaring has proceeded to the south of O'Fee's dip since early in the year, and a small section of pillars is being worked between O'Fee's and Fuller's dips. The dip to form the second panel to the north was stopped when 8 chains down. Levels to the north of this dip, called Leishman's, were in thin coal containing a stone band. They met two faults, the first one of 6 ft. and the other 20 ft. farther in. The levels were stopped about 6 chains in. A rise was put up from the bottom level to ascertain if a higher seam existed there. After passing through 40 ft. of clay containing a few very thin coal-seams the rise was stopped, and it was decided to work back the pillars north of Leishman's dip. The new main return-airway, 1,400 ft. long, was completed in June, and recently the ventilating current was split, one split ventilating the south workings and functioning with the north split near Kyle's dip. The inby portion of the main haulage-road was widened to enable the extension

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