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

300 REPORT OF THE INSPECTORS OF MINES. Off. Doc.
Catfish Run.—This mine has been running almost continuously
during the year. At my last examination, I found plenty of air
passing at the inlet and outlet, but it was not being properly conveyed
to the face of the workings. The most of the air was being lost before
it reached the face of the entries, owing to the excessive leakage
taking place at the different room doors. This, however, is one of
the natural results of working a mine on the single entry plan. The
drainage is being accomplished, in a large measure, by hauling the
water from the swamps in water cars, which can only be, at best, a
makeshift. My experience has been that whereever such primitive
methods are used to drain mines, the hauling roads were always in
a wet and muddy condition, and Catfish Run mine is no exception to
the rule.
Eagle.—The company operating this mine has had a steady and successful
year's run. The coal reached by the old opening is about exhausted,
but a new drift has been opened into a small property which
lies about 1,000 feet farther to the south of the present, or old place.
A tram-road has been built to connect the new mine with the old
check house. The miners are being transferred from the old mine
as fast as the development of the new one will allow. The quantity
of air measured in both openings was 9,385 cubic feet per minute.
The mine in which nearly all the miners were working was well ventilated.
A small ventilating furnace has been built here. The drainage
of the new mine was good.
Mineral Ridge.—The company's coal territory into which this mine
was opened is about exhausted. The company has under consideration
the putting in of a haulage plant, and should they decide to put
in the machinery, they can reach large coal properties which lie beyond
their present boundaries. I find that the ventilating furnace
has not the power to produce sufficient air with which to ventilate the
workings properly, hence, additional ventilating power will have to
be provided at once if the workings are to extend any farther. The
drainage was reasonably good.
Church Hill.—This mine does not give employment to many miners
and it has not been running very steadily during the year. Tlie total
quantity of air in circulation in the mine was sufficient, but it was
not conveyed to all of the workings as carefully as it might have been.
In one of the butt entries, I had to stop some of the miners as they
were working ahead of the air current. The drainage, in parts of the
mine, was defective, but as a large ditch would be completed in a
couple of days after my visit, this defect would be remedied forthwith.