C.—2.

Prospecting near Pukerau. —A "diviner" having stated that bituminous coal would be found at about 300 ft. depth about two miles north of Pukerau, a syndicate put down a 4 in. diamond-drill borehole there. After passing through clays and gravels the hole met argillite at about 100 ft. and was continued in that rock until 480 ft., when it entered a compact greywacke containing a few veinlets of calcite. Boring was continued to 606 ft. in the greywacke. Diamond Lignite Pit. —The lignite, which has been stripped at the north end, is nearly all won, and, as that end of the pit is nearing a dwellinghouse, work will soon cease there and be recommenced at the west side. Black Dimond Mine. —Only seven miners are employed at this mine, and even that small number is working only half-time. The solid work being completed, pillaring was commenced in the north-west section in May. Weight came on the pillars being extracted near the fault, and eight good chocks, built of railway sleepers, were buried in the subsequent fall. A line of pillars was then left in and pillaring recommenced outby them. Smithvale Mine.—The overburden becoming too thick for further opencasting it was decided to drive on the lower 5 ft. of coal. Above this is 2 ft. of hard stone and then 4 ft. of fairly good coal. A place has been driven about 30 yards to the south-east, and off this a level to the north. A large fault was met with, so the few pillars were extracted. They then resumed working an old opencast pit about 15 chains farther east where there is from 6 ft. to 8 ft. of fairly clean coal with only 3 ft. of stripping. On freehold land between the traffic-road and the railway a dip has been started at a grade of 1 in 6 towards the west and to go under the traffic-road. If- coal is proven under the road the drive will be extended into a 45 acre block, a lease of which was recently applied for. The haulage-winch is driven by a .16 h.p. A.C. motor, and a 2 h.p. motor, drives the 2|- in. pump. A small sirocco ventilating-fan has been installed, and is also driven by a small A.C. motor. Mossbank No. 1 Mine. —The splitting of the pillars in the No. 5 section was completed and that section was stopped off near the end of the year. Three pairs of miners are splitting pillars and working back tops in the No. 4 section. In the south-west corner of the lease solid places are being driven. The coal is very variable there, in some places being very stony and in others fairly clean. The places going south met a downthrow fault, and were stopped within 2 chains of some rise places in the Mossbank No. 3 Mine. Mossbank No. 3 Mine. —The main dip has not' been extended, but early in the year several levels were driven to the west in rather dirty coal. A large fault, running about north-west by west, cuts off these levels. In one place the fault appeared to be an upthrow, but in another, to the south off the bottom level, there is only a narrow strip of barren country and then a 4 ft. seam of clean coal was met in the floor. This was driven on and the fault proved to be an upthrow of 15 ft. vertical displacement. The bottom 3 ft. of coal is very dirty, but there is at least 11 ft. of clean coal above. Places to the rise met the other fault which was struck by places in the Mossbank No. 1 Mine. Mossbank No. 2 Mine. —All available pillar coal having been extracted, the mine was abandoned in December. Lobbs Hill Mine.—The main level going east is now in 2-| chains. At the entrance the coal was 4 ft. thick, but it has thinned to 3 ft. at the face. Off the level, inclines were driven to the north, and in one, a new return airway, the coal is 4 ft. thick at the face. Although the coal is clean and hard there is little demand for it. Wairaki No. 1 Mine. —Pillaring in the No. 1 east section was completed in April and then the section was effectively sealed off. In the No. 2 east section the main levels were stopped 11 chains south of the line of the traffic-road. There a vertical fault, apparently a downthrow, was met. Some of the rise places were in thin and very dirty coal, so they also were stopped, and the inby pillars are now being won. Two prospect dips are to be driven below the No. 2 east level about 20 chains in from the main dip. If these places prove workable coal, dips will be driven from the surface in line with them, and thus form a much shorter haulage route than the present one. The inby portion of No. 3 west section proved very disappointing, so stoppings were put in the main and back levels about 3 chains from the faces. From about half-way in from the main dip in the No. 3 west level a dip was driven to the south-west. It is now down chains, but is mostly in stone. At the face is 5 ft. of sandstone with only a thin seam of coal below it and a 2£ ft. seam above the stone. A small shaft sunk about 20 ft. back from the face passed through a4J ft. seam of dirty coal. It is now down 25 ft. and in sandstone. Pillaring is in progress at both east and west ends of the rise portion of the No. 3 west section, also in Nos. 1 and 2 west sections. Pillaring of the top panel in the No. 1 west was completed in November and the waste has been sealed off. A new lamp-cabin was built for the Ceag electric safety-lamps, of which sixty of the cap type and twenty hand-lamps are in use. A 5 h.p. D.C. generator charges the lamps. Wairaki No. 2 Mine.—Two pairs of miners were employed early in the year at pillar-extraction on the west side, but owing to slackness of trade work ceased at this mine, and has not yet recommenced. Linton No. 1 Mine.—Pillaring in the old rise section was completed in April and it was then sealed off by concrete stoppings. This section of old workings heated and gave great anxiety in August owing to the fire breaking through to the surface. Men were at once employed filling up the breaks to the surface, and the fire was subdued. The north-west heading—the main haulage-road —has not been extended during the past year, but work was recommenced in the back heading in September. It is now down 400 ft., at a grade of lin 2J, below the south-west heading, the coal being again met at 300 ft. A stenton will soon be driven to the line of the main dip which will then be set away to connect to the face of the stenton. A pair of headings have been driven to the south-west from near the face of the north-west heading. The main south-west heading is called Manderson's dip, and about 12 chains down it met a 20 ft. upthrow fault running about east and west. A wooden gantry has been built, over which the coal from the inby side of the fault is conveyed. A large blower of firedamp was given off when the back heading reached the fault. To the rise of Manderson's dip three places are now being worked. A pair of headings have also been driven to the north-east from near the face of the main dip. The main north-east heading is up about 12 chains, and has crossed out of the Crown lease into freehold land to the north. Owing to entering a stony area Adam and Eve's dip was stopped when 11 chains down, but three places are being driven to the north-west in that section. A crosscut was driven into the faulted area to the north of the face of the main dip. This place was stopped when chains in and still in stone. The double-inlet Sirocco ventilating-fan of 63 in. diameter was installed at the top of the new air-shaft in June. It circulates 48,000 cubic feet of air per minute at a water-gauge of 1 in. A new travelling road into the mine is now in use. To cope with the increased flow of water an electrically driven three-throw pump was purchased in England. The motor is of the slip-ring type, provided with certified flameproof slip-ring covers. The oil circuit-breaker and rotor-starter are also flameproof. A brick chamber was built for the pump in a cut-through off the main intake airway 11 chains down from the surface. Near the deputies' cabin on the surface a good ambulance-room has been fitted up. It is provided with a stretcherbed, a large cupboard containing first-aid equipment and another cupboard containing an oxygen resuscitator, two sets of Siebe-Gorman hose helmets and two of " Proto " apparatus. Linton No. 2 Mine. —The fire in the sealed-off No. 1 south section caused much anxiety in June. It worked back to a concrete stopping in a level 5 chains down from the mine entrance. At one time a thermometer, hung on the centre of the stopping, registered §0° Fahr. Water was pumped in to the heated area through breaks to the surface and the breaks were then filled with clay. In May the No. 2 south section was reopened, and since then two pairs of miners have been pillaring there. Pillaring in the high coal in the No. 3 south was also continued throughout the year, but large losses occurred through roof stone in

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