Report of the Bureau of Mines of the Department of Internal Affairs of ...

280 REPORT OF THE INSPECTORS OF MINES. Off. Doc.
pleted, will remedy this defect. The drainag>e is in very fair condition.
Quantity of air passing at inlet, 39,000 cubic feet per minute.
Mine foreman, Henry Gardner.
Ocean No. 1 Shaft.—I entered this mine on my first visit, June 3,
about 8.30 A. M., and while I was going up the north main ''butt"
entry with the mine foreman, Mr. William Bainbridge, an explosion
of fire-damp occurred in the northeast main entry, which forced a
door through the frame and also blew out some four or five stoppings
between the north main butt and parallel entries, which cut the ventilation
off from these entries, thereby allowing the gas to accumulate.
When we reached the face, where the men were working, with
safety lamps, the gas was down within eighteen inches of the bottom,
where it exploded in the Davy safety lamp. This gas had accumulated
in about a half hour, which proves that the entries generated
fire-damp at that time very freely.
The miners were all taken out of that section of the mine and day
men were put to work to rebuild the brattices and repair the door,
after which the gas was removed.
About 5 o'clock P. M. we reached the face of the northeast main
entry, where the explosion occurred, and found the gas extending
down about two feet below the roof and back several feet to the last
cut-through. I ordered the mine foreman to use brattices in these
entries in order to carry the air up to the face so as to keep them clear
of any accumulation of fire-damp, and also not to allow any shot
firing in entries of this kind, as it was very dangerous.
He at once notified the men who were working in the entries not
to fire any more shots unless authorized to do so by him.
The gas had been ignited by the flame from a shot, but fortunately
no one was injured, as the men who were working in the entry had
time, after they lighted the fuse, to get to another entry about 300 feet
away, before the explosion occurred.
On my second visit, I found the workings comparatively clear of firedamp.
On the third visit, which was on December 15, I found the
general condition of the mine and drainage very fair. I found
standing gas on "rib" falls on first butt, north, but since have been
informed that the greater part of it has been removed. The quantity
of air in circulation, when last measured, was 132,700 cubic feet per
minute, which was being well distributed around the workings.
There were thirty safety lamps in use in the mine, and more will be
introduced. The mine foreman ordered sixty new lamp bottoms to
take the place of those which had been damaged on December 11 by
a fire, which occurred in the fan engine house, where the safety lamps
and supplies were kept. This fire also destroyed that part of the
fire boss' daily report book which contained the daily reports of the
fire bosses, with reference to the nature and location of any dangers
dicovered by them during each examination of the mine.