1250 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. December 17, 1915. QUEENSLAND MINES INSPECTION IN 1914. The report of Mr. C. F. V. Jackson, State mining engineer, states that during 1914 there were 29 collieries in the Ipswich district contributing to the output, seven in the Darling Downs district, four in the Maryborough district, one in the Central district, and four at Blair Athol. The following particulars of the annual output of coal from the year 1900 up to and including the year 1914 show that the total for the year was 1,053,990 tons, and that the steady progress indicated by the previous records was well maintained last year:— Year. Screened coal. Unscreened * coal. Small coal. Total. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. 1900 — — — ... 497,123 1901 — — — ... 539,472 1902 — — — ... 501,531 1903 — — — ... 507,801 1904 — — — ... 512,015 1905 147,435 326,750 L’ 55,141 529,326 1906 ... 274,057 ... 263,512 ... 62,203 ... 606,772 1907 ... 382,131 ... 335,717 ... 65,424 ... 683,272 1908 216,369 ... 418,110 ... 61,853 ... 696,332 1909 ... 206,154 ... 486,323 ... 64,100 ... 756,577 1910 ... 277,652 ... 516,557 ... 76,967 ... 871,176 1911 ... 232,119 ... 583,577 ... 75,872 ... 891,568 1912 ... 362,337 ... 461,995 ... 77,819 ... 902,151 1913 ... 330,981 ... 606,006 ... 100,957 ... 1,037,944 1914 ... 280,900 ... 648,662 ... 124,428 1,053,990 The f- oilowing is a comparison of the quantity and value of the coal raised in each of the coal mining districts of >the State, with the figures for 1913 :— 1913. 19a4' Average Average District. Tons value Tons value raised, per ton.* raised, per ton.* s. d. s. d. Ipswich ............ 695,422... 7 0*7 ... 718,205... 7 1'5 Darling Downs...... 103,538... 8 5’9... 105,645... 8 8*9 Nundah (Brisbane)... — ... — ... 625... 5 3'36 Wide Bay and Mary- borough .......... 129,611...10 11'39... 118,120...11 3'76 Rockhampton (Central) 13,574... 10 4'3 ... 7,818... 8 9'26 Clermont............ 93,799... 7 7 ... 102,980... 8 4'9 Mount Mulligan (Chillagoe) ........ — ... — ... 597...17 1'8 Total........1,037,944... 7 9'3 ...1,053,990... 7 10'8 * At pit's mouth. The figures for the year show that the total increase in the output last year was 16,046 tons, and the average value was l-5d. per ton higher than in the previous year. An examination of the details shows that the increase in quantity is accounted for by the larger output of the Ipswich, Darling Downs, -and Clermont districts. A decrease is shown in the output of the Wide Bay and Maryborough and Rockhampton districts; but it does not represent a serious falling off in proportion to the total output of these districts, except in the case of Rockhampton, for which an explanation is to be found in the diminishing yield of the Bluff Colliery. About one-third of the Ipswich coal was shipped as bunker coal; and the total amount shipped at the South Brisbane railway wharf for bunkers, cargo, and other purposes was 324,337 tons. At the Maryborough wharf the quantity was 4,374 tons. The tonnage of vessels leaving the port of Brisbane during the year—a matter of some importance to the trade of the Bundamba mines—was, according to returns furnished by the Collector of Customs, 2,813,988 tons, being a decrease of 28,261 tons compared with the previous year. The total value of the coal raised in the State during the year was £416,292; the corresponding figures for the previous year being .£403,767. The average value per ton at the pit’s mouth for the whole State, as ascertained from the returns, was 7s. 10-8d. per ton. Particulars of the coal and coke landed in Queensland from the other States of the Commonwealth are not now available, a record being kept only of the imports from oversea. The total shipments from oversea amounted to 1,650 tons of coal and 4,568 tons of coke. The coke consisted of a shipment of 2,580 tons from the United Kingdom, and a shipment of 1,988 tons from Germany; Rockhampton being the port in each case. Past records show that from 50,000 to 60,000 tons is about the average quantity of coke obtained from New South Wales annually for smelting purposes. The quantity of coke made at coke making plants in the State last year was 16,685 tons. In the Ipswich district a considerable number of improvements were made to facilitate the working of some of the principal mines, and some further shaft sinking has been carried out. By means of a bore from the New Aberdare shaft when it reached a depth of 250ft., the Aberdare seam was located at 827 ft.; so that this shaft when completed will be one of the deepest in the Ipswich district. In several cases shaft sinking and prospecting operations which were commenced in 1913 have developed into productive collieries during the year. On the Darling Downs changes are being made on account of the Kingsthorpe collieries becoming exhausted. The various colliery owners have acquired new areas, on which the preliminary work is being done in readiness to carry on the trade of several of the older mines about to be closed down. In the Maryborough and Bunrum districts -there appears to be some likelihood of coal mining operations being extended somewhat, as some boring is being done and a number of coal prospecting -areas have been taken up. All the collieries in this part of the State, at Howard, Burrum, and Torbanlea, were working full time, except for a short period towards the end of the year. Some boring has been carried out at Littlemore, on the Boyne Valley Railway, about 40 miles from Gladstone; and three seams of coal are reported to have been met with-—two of brown coal, and one of a better nature. The output of -the Bluff Colliery—formerly one of the principal producing mines in the Central district—has been falling off for the last two years, chiefly on account of competition as a result of -the development of the collieries at Blair Athol. In the latter part of the year the mine was offered on tribute. The shaft sunk by the Mount Morgan Company on the Mammoth coal areas, further west from Rockhampton than the Bluff Colliery, was completed during the year, and equipped with a serviceable headgear and winding pliant; but operations were discontinued pending tests of the seams with the object of ascertaining the suitability of the coal for the manufacture of coke. At Blair Athol, in the Clermont district, one of the pits was closed down under exemption owing to slack- ness of -trade; but in the others work was carried on continuously, and satisfactory progress made both in production -and development work. In the Chillagoe district extensive development work was done at the Mount Mulligan coal mine, a main incline about 400 ft. long having been carried down on No. 2 seam, and a similar incline started in No. 3 tunnel on the same seam. Before operations at the mine were suspended, pending arrangements for further capital, the steam and electrical plants were well on their way towards completion. The generator installed pro- duces 300 kw. at 1,000 volts pressure. Reinforced con- crete has been used in the construction of the buildings for housing the machinery. At the end of the year arrangements had been practically completed to forward coal from the Mount Mulligan mine early in 1915; but it was expected that operations would only be conducted on a limited scale until conditions are more favourable for the metalliferous mines and smelting works, which are the principal consumers of coal and coke in the dis- trict. An electrical winding plant is provided at the top of the main incline, and a motor-driven fan at No. 3 tunnel. The completed scheme will include a 50 b.h.p. motor for surface hauling, and one of 140 b.h.p. at the coke works. The average number of men employed in coal mining operations was 2,227. Accidents. The number of fatal accidents in coal mines was three in 1914, compared with one in 1913. The death-rate per 1,000 persons employed in coal mines was 0'42 in 1913, and 1-35 in 1914. The number of accidents not attended with fatal results was 22, as compared with 40 in the previous year. General. All mining work, except coal mining and gold mining, was mo-re or less disorganised, and operations practically ceased for some months after the declaration of war. Coal mining and gold mining were not seriously affected by this cause; and the coal production shows actually a decided increase, the satisfactory conditions indicated at the close of 1913 being well maintained in this branch of mining. The number of mining ropes tested on the testing machines during the year was 412, and, as a result of the tests, 29 ropes were condemned. The number tested was less, and the number condemned was greater, than in the previous year. Six cases of ropes breaking were reported, which is an unusually large number; and two unfortunately resulted in fatal accidents. Several cases of overwinding were reported during the year, princi- pally at Gympie and Charters Towers, and these were dealt with by the Board of Examiners. The provisions of the Mines Regulation Act of 1910 are resulting in many improvements and additional pre- cautions for safety. There were eight prosecutions during the year for breaches of the various provisions of the Act, and, in addition, seven cases against miners for breaches of the special rules adopted by the colliery managers under section 51 of the Act, for the conduct and guidance of persons employed in the collieries. In one case of proceedings by the manager against a number of miners for breach of the special rules, the question was raised as to whether prosecutions could be instituted by the managers of collieries for breaches of the special rules. This resulted in the case being dismissed, as, although the inspector was in accord with the manager in taking proceedings, it appears that under the provi- sion of the Queensland Mines Regulation Act, the com- plaint in such prosecutions must show that the manager purports to act by the authority of an inspector, and it must be shown that the inspector gave authority to the manager to lay the complaint. Neither of these con- ditions had been fulfilled in the case in question. There are certainly some objections to the manager having to submit a matter of the kind to the inspector before taking action, on account of the delay and other reasons, and it would have been better if the section of the Act dealing with the matter had been somewhat differently framed. Until there is an opportunity of amending the Act, however, the difficulty must be overcome in the manner indicated above, which only means that the inspector must be consulted beforehand, and there need be no delay of any consequence, seeing that the inspector is resident in the district, and in communication bv telephone with the Mines Department, so that a draft form of complaint and necessary authority can be obtained by any of the managers within a few hours. The ventilation of the mines is, in general, more satis- factory than hitherto: and little trouble has been experi- enced in this respect, except in some of the deeper gold mines, and in the case of development and prospecting work in places outside the main ventilation system. In some places in the copper mines, high temperatures have been caused by the heat developed in the ore bodies: but the difficulties have generally been overcome in a satis- factory manner by the use of mechanical appliances, blowers, fans, etc., to assist the natural ventilation. Explosive gas has been reported on different occasions in seven of the collieries during the year—in three cases in collieries in which no gas had been seen previously. Most of the important collieries in the Ipswich district are now well ventilated by fans, and more attention is given to the matter than hitherto. Fans are also being installed in the collieries at Clermont, in the Central district. The most important matter in connection with the ventilation of the Deep Mines at Charters Towers has been the connection of the Brilliant Deeps and the Brilliant Block Mines, for which assistance was provided by the Department. The work has resulted in a great improvement in the ventilation of the mines. Results in connection with the Ipswich Rescue Station are still very unsatisfactory, and no improvement can be recorded -as a result of last year’s work. It has been suggested that the central station is in a rather inconvenient locality; but the necessary initiative to overcome this difficulty, by holding instruction classes in more convenient localities, appears -to be lacking under existing arrangements. To place the matter on a satisfactory basis, some provision would appear to be necessary, in the first instance, for a scale of payment for the members of the rescue corps. This will neces- sitate making contribution by the various collieries com- pulsory, for which a short Act or an amendment of the existing Act may be advisable at the earliest opportunity. The granting of certificates of service to persons who held positions as mine managers prior -to the passing of the Mines Regulation Act practically ended on the date fixed by the Act, after which the privilege ceased to be available. The annual examination for certificates of competency was fixed for October 26 and following days. Nine candidates presented themselves for examination for first-class and 11 for second-class. As a result of the examination, one candidate passed for first-class certificate of competency for metalliferous mines, and four for similar certificates for collieries; while nine passed for second-class certificates. During the year 1914, three certificates of competency issued in other States, etc., were approved and registered by the board in accordance with the provisions of the Act relating thereto; the total number of certificates approved and registered as above to December 31, 1914, being 22 certificates of competency, and three certificates of service. The board appointed to deal with the examination of persons desirous of obtaining winding licences arranged for examinations to be held during the year as required. Including those issued without examination to holders of winding certificates, the total number of winding licences issued to date is :—For steam winding engines, 67; for winding engines worked by electrical power, 25; and for oil engines, 2. _____________________________________________________ LETTERS TO THE EDITORS. ________________ The Editors are not responsible either for the statements made, or the opinions expressed by correspondents. All communications must be authenticated by the name and address of the sender, whether for publication or not. No notice can be taken of anonymous communications. As replies to questions are only given by way of published answers to correspondents, and not by letter, stamped addressed envelopes are not required to be sent. ____________________________________________________ SEVENTH REPORT ON STONE DUSTING. Sirs,—It is well to know flue dust is not a satisfactory remedy, and with powdered slag and clinker should be avoided, and that hard limestone has unfavourable results. “ For stone dusting a substance is required which is as easily suspended in the air as coal dust, which is as harmless to breathe, and which passes along with the coal dust to such positions as the tops of timber bars in the roof.” This is a confirmation of the Committee’s No. 5 and 6 reports, ” the finer the stone dust the better.” It is noticeable that this report only refers to con- ditions in North Country pits—which conditions are favourable in comparison with those existing in South Wales, viz., the natural percentage of ash in North Country pits is frequently over 40 per cent., whereas South Wales ash rarely exceeds 13 to 15 per cent. No mention is made in No. 7 report as to experiments with fullers’ earth, which gave such satisfactory results in Nos. 5 and 6 reports, owing entirely to its fine divi- sion, which fully meets the requirements set out in No. 7. Considerable mention is made of colliery shale, but it is probable no colliery shale as such has been used in any of these experiments so finely ground as was the fullers’ earth supplied by me to the Explosions in Mines Committee. Had colliery shale of equal fineness been used, it would have been found almost as buoyant as the coal dust—and possessing the qualities required in the later paragraph of No. 7. This letter is not intended as a criticism, as critics usually pull a report to pieces without offering any con- structive alternative. It may be useful to review what has been done in this matter since December 1912. In December 1912 I supplied the Committee with fullers’ earth so finely ground, and of such buoyancy, that on disturbance it would rise ” on equal terms with coal dust ” (see No. 5 report, experiment 225). About January 1913, we may gather from No. 5 report, the Committee found this material to be efficacious in the proportion of 1 to 1; and many of the remaining experiments appear to have been conducted with fullers’ earth. In 1913 Sir Henry Cunynghame referred to this feature in his address before the British Association at the Central Hall, Birmingham. In October 1913, No. 5 report was issued.