920 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. October 30, 1914. ______________________________________ _____________________________ _____________________ ______________________ bunkering trade will be more widely distributed. The port of Delagoa Bay is, however, better situated for the export trade to the East Coast, India, and the East Indies, and its position will probably enable the Transvaal coalfields to compete successfully with Durban in that class of trade in the future. Accidents. In 1913, 86 whites, four Asiatics, and 902 natives and Cape “boys” were killed in accidents at mines, of whom three whites, four Asiatics, and 69 natives were killed at coal mines—.of the total of 76, 43 in the Transvaal, one in the Cape, 13 in the Orange Free State, and 19 in Natal. -Last year’s accident death rate of 3-55 per 1,000 employed for the Transvaal is the lowest on record, with the exception of the abnormal year 1901-02. The Natal collieries maintain a good record, with the comparatively low death rate of 1-6 per 1,000. These mines have both gas and dust to contend with, and are to-day fighting a gradual increasing number of gob-fires, the natural sequence of exhausted royalties and pillar extraction. All arrangements should shortly be com- pleted for the establishment of a central rescue station for these mines, and the work of organisation can then be put in hand’at once. Witbank, the largest Trans- vaal and South African colliery, was very adversely commented upon in last year’s report, and it is very satisfactory to record that the accident death rate of this mine has come down from 5-8 per 1,000 in 1912 to 0’65 per 1,000 in 1913. There are few places in the world where good steam coal can be won as easily and as cheaply as in the Witbank district, and if proper attention is given to roof support and examination, the accident death rate of any colliery in this district should never be high. In the Orange Free State the Cornelia Colliery, under the control of Messrs. Lewis and Marks, has caused a good deal of trouble during the past year, and with an accident death rate of 8-31 has been marked out for special attention. The Clydesdale Colliery, situated in the same district, had an accident death-rate of 2-48 for 1913, only one person being killed underground during that time. In addition to the 992 deaths, 2,759 persons were injured at mines within the Union during the year. The following table shows the principal causes of accidents :— No. of deaths. Percentage. Cause. f------------, ,-----f------, 1912. 1913. 1912. 1913 Falls of ground ............. 316 ... 315 ... 32'02 ... 31'76 Trucks and tramways _______ 66 ... 50 ... 6'69 ... 5'04 Falling of material __ ________ 100 ... 85 10'13 8'56 Explosive’s__________________ 210 ... 240 ... 21'28 24'19 Machinery.................. 30 ... 39 ... 3'04 ... 3'93 Falling in shafts, excavations, &c......................... 64 ... 61 ... 6'48 ... 6'15 Struck by skip, cage, &c...... 57 ... 31 ... 5'77 ... 3T3 Other causes................ 144 ... 171 ... 14'59 ... 17'24 Totals ............... 987 ... 992 ... — ... — The extent to which the personal element effects acci- dent occurrences is shown hereunder. Deaths. _______ _______ Causes. ,-------K-------, Number. Percent. Danger inherent to work or misadventure 572 ... 57 7 Defective plant or material............ 41 ... 4'1 Fault of injured person— Carelessness __....................... 54 ... 5'5 Ignorance ....................... 21 ... 21 Disobedience to orders ............ 53 ... 5'3 Fault of management ................ 37 ... 3'7 Fault of gangers ..................... 118 ... 11'9 ....................... Fault of others......................... 63 ... 6'4 Joint fault ........................... 33 ... 3'3 The Government Mining Engineer notes with satis- faction that accidents in connectipn with electrical plant are decreasing in frequency, although the use of electrical power is extending. Last year there were six separate accidents, resulting in six deaths, classified as follows :—Direct contact with a live cable exposed through abrasion of the insulation, two; contact with a conductor (i.e., signal wire) made live by its con- tact with a live cable exposed through abrasion, two; accidental contact with uninsulated live parts of apparatus nominally exposed, two. These accidents occurred in connection with electric lines or apparatus at voltages ranging from 110 to 500 a.c. Overwinds and Rope Breakages. During 1913 in the Transvaal there occurred 74 over- winds or runaways in shafts or winzes; in 13 eases death or serious injury to persons resulted. There were seven cases of overwind in the other provinces, only one of which caused serious personal injury. The most serious of these accidents occurred at the south-west shaft of the Government Gold Mining Areas (Modderfontein) on June 5, and consisted, of the over- winding of a skip containing nine natives, the freeing of the ropes when the detaching hook acted, and the fall of the skip down the shaft owing to the supporting plate of the safety apparatus being broken away. Some persons were killed by being tipped out of the skip, and some by the skip and debris falling on them at the bottom of the shaft. The reason for the overwind was that the reversing gear became inoperative in the middle of the trip. The rod which works the catch “ finger ” of the reversing lever broke, and, the “ finger ” remain- ing in the slot, the reversing lever could not be moved. By immediately closing the throttle and using the brakes judiciously, it was considered that the engine driver might have prevented this overwind, but his certificate, although suspended, was returned to him on appeal. This accident caused the death of 11 natives and serious injury to one white and one coloured person. Of the 81 overwinds or runaways (30 of which occurred with electrical hoists, and 51 with hoists driven by steam or air), 66 occurred with winding engines" licensed for the conveyance of persons; 75 occurred with the engine in charge of certificated drivers; five with uncertificated white drivers; and in the remaining case there was no driver present, and during the excitement due to a fire in the engine room some person opened the throttle valve of the winding engine. In 62 cases the certificated engine driver was considered to be at fault; there was one case of sudden illness, and 12 instances of defective plant or of circumstances outside the control of the engine driver. The causes of overwinding, in the cases just con- sidered, where the engine driver was deemed to be blameworthy, were very similar to those evidenced in previous years, with the exception that there has been a reduction in the number of accidents caused by starting to lower with the reversing lever in the position for raising. During the year 1912 there were 32 of these cases, while in 1913 there were only 15. The reduction may be due to the very general adoption -of Philip’s prevention (warning) device. The number of over- winds due to raising too far at the end of the hoist has largely increased. “ Driver new to engine ” has been a common excuse, and it is possible that the labour unrest obtaining during 1913 has been responsible for non-eontinuity of employment and thus for dangerous accidents. With regard to the 12 “ overwinds ” which were due to defective plant, six occurred in connection with the reversing gear, two with the clutch, two with the throttle valve, one with the brakes, while in the ■ I N? I Pit Xz-: The Natal Navigation collieries. Boiler-Feed Water Dam 5^-. ® _ ■ ■ Xr ak'.’U . XX . remaining ease there was a “ smash up ” due to a loose piston. Where steam reversing gear has failed, the overwind would not have occurred if the engine driver- had watched for a full movement of the reversing gear before opening the throttle or taking off the brakes. Detaching hooks were successful in nearly every instance • —the exceptions being cases where the overwind was at such speed and did so much local damage that the supporting plate, or ring, was knocked out of position. The fatal accidents due to ropes, chains, or couplings breaking show an increase on those of the previous year, when there were only four accidents, resulting in four deaths. Last year 19 were killed as the result of 15 accidents. In seven instances it was the coupling that failed; in the other cases the ropes broke. There was no instance of the fracture of the winding rope of a licensed hoist, but in three eases the connection broke owing to derailments. The other ropes, with one excep- tion, were used with underground winches. These ropes are subject to very rough usage, and are evidently not inspected with sufficient regularity. To provide for the safety of persons working below, in the case of the rope or coupling breaking, a new regulation was promul- gated during the year, its terms being as follows :— _____________________________________________ Regulation 43 (1) (s).—On every inclined shaft, winze, or roadway in which trucks are worked attached to the end of a rope, a self-acting turn-out switch or other effective contrivance shall be’ provided and used to prevent the trucks from running away. Steps are also being taken to establish uniformity of practice on the mines of the Witwatersrand with respect to the responsibility for the safe working of underground machinery, and to ensure a regular examination of .the wire ropes by competent persons. The one exception, referred to above, is furnished by an accident that occurred in a vertical sinking shaft. The crosshead stuck in the headgear while the bucket was being lowered. When a depth of about 70 ft. had been reached by the conveyance, the crosshead cleared and fell down to the shackle. This broke, and the bucket fell 80 ft. to the bottom of the shaft, where 13 natives were working. One of these natives was killed and two injured. Of the 28 eases of ropes (or couplings) breaking by which persons were usually drawn, only six resulted in casualties; 16 were caused by overwinding or runaway, nine were due to derailment, jam, or collision in shaft, while a bad weld, the too sudden application of brakes, and a worn out rope constitute the reasons for the remaining three eases. Persons were being raised or lowered in 16 instances when the winding rope or con- nection broke, 14 of them being eases of overwind or runaway, and these have been alluded to previously in this report. The other two were cases of derailment, and one of these led directly to the death of a native. Safety catches were not in use in any instance; in the vertical shafts with wooden guides sinking operations were still in progress. In addition to these cases of fracture, 22 winding ropes were seriously damaged owing to runaway, derailment, or jam in shaft. There were 10 breakages of winding ropes used exclusively for the raising of minerals, due to causes similar to those above mentioned. The Department's practice in respect of the endorse- ment of certificates has sometimes been challenged. The regulation provides that any suspension of a certificate, if confirmed by the Government Mining Engineer, may be noted on the certificate. The endorsement is usually carried into effect on a second suspension, unless there are mitigating circumstances. It is recognised that this is a strong step to take, since the value of the certificate as a testimonial to the holder's qualifications is thereby seriously diminished, especially in the case of a winding engine driver. The responsibility for the safety of life