1900 - Coalmininghistorypa.org

524 Report of the bureau of mines. Off. Doc.
but it will require a great deal of time to remove all the coal, as
an unusual quantity has been left to be robbed out. The Plane
mine now in operation is a new one on the E seam of coal, the old
Plane mine, which was on the B seam, being worked out. The condition
of the mine is fair. Of Columbia mines Nos. 4 and 7, the
former is an old working and the latter a new one. At No. 4 during
the present year, electric haulage has been installed, as well as a fan
propelled by an electric motor to replace the furnace formerly used
for ventilation. These improvements should greatly help the sanitary
condition of the mine. No. 7 is a slope opening, in which the
ventilation is produced by a 10-foot Stine fan. On my last examination
I found an abundance of air going into the mine, but the airways
were too far behind the face of the workings to prove of much
benefit to that part of the mine. The Dysert mine is a colliery
nearly worked out, about all the coal that is now being mined coming
from pillars and stumps and a few rooms. A new mine opened up
during the year is the Moshannon. It is being driven down as a
slope on the pitch of the seam, which at this point is about 5 per
tent. A fan will be used for ventilation.
Mines in the Neighborhood of Lilly.
Lilly slope and Standard mine are both ventilated by a fan at the
former, which always produces a sufficient supply of air for the two.
The drainage is also very good. Other operations here are Sonman
Nos. 2 and 3, Bear Rock and Kokomo. Sonman No. 2 is an old
colliery which was in very bad condition when taken by the present
management, but through energetic work under intelligent direction
it has been brought into very fair sanitary condition. No. 3 is
a new mine, just being opened up, and is ventilated by a furnace.
Bear Rock and Kokomo are small operations, both ventilated by furnaces.
The latter is in very good condition as to drainage and ventilation;
the former not so good.
The Gallitzin Operations.
At Gallitzin slope the drainage has always been good, but in the
early part of the past year the ventilation became weak through the
inadequacy of the machinery to meet the requirements of a much
larger production. This deficiency has been remedied, however, by
a new fan put in at the extreme face of the mine and run by an electric
motor. At Gallitzin shaft the drainage is good and the ventilation
fair, but the latter could be improved by a larger fan, this
being another case where a mine has been a great while in operation,
while the resultant longer airways and more or less leakages, render
insufficient the machinery that once was ample.