WESTERN AUSTRALIAN COALFIELDS. 71 



According 1 to a generalised section compiled by Dr. Jack 

 the coal measures ar^ 2012ft. 5in. thick, and include 24 coal 

 seams. The chief of these are, commencing at the bottom: 



Wallsend coal 9ft. to 17ft. 



Proprietary No. 2 coal 5ft. to 7ft. 6in. 



Proprietary No. 1 coal 4ft. to 8ft. 



Collie Burn No. 2 coal 6ft. to 7ft. lOin. 



Collie Burn No. 1 coal 9ft. 



Cardiff No. 2 or Boulder coal 7ft. 



Cardiff No. 1 coal 9ft. to 12ft. 



Only the very thick seams are worked, and only a portion 

 of these, owing to the uncertain nature of the roof, which, when 

 it falls, sometimes lets in water and running sand, so the top 

 of the seam is generally left as a roof. 



A rough estimate given by Dr. Jack of the total amount 

 of coal available in the field is as follows : 



Tons. 



Cardiff No. 1 seam 18,175,104 



Cardiff No. 2 or Collie-Boulder seam 17,547,840 



Collie Burn No. 1 seam 46,433,088 



Collie Burn No. 2 seam 38,966,640 



Eight foot seam 50,683,968 



Wallsend seam 138,843,936 



310,680,576 



This is making a deduction for the top coal that has to be 

 left, also for the large proportion of coal required as pillars, 

 which, on account of the general tender character of the coal, 

 sometimes amounts to nearly 60 per cent. The coal of this 

 field is a hydrous semi-bituminous non-coking coal, and 

 is inferior to the Newcastle coals of New South Wales. Were 

 it not that the Western Australian railways undertook to con- 

 sume a large proportion of the output, the probability is that 

 the seams would not have been worked. The coal is fragile, 

 partly owing to numerous partings of mother-of-coal in it, 

 and partly owing to spontaneous decrepitation accompanying 

 a loss of moisture on exposure to the air. An idea of the 

 nature of this coal will be given by the following proximate 

 analysis : 



Vol. Hydro- Fixed 



Moisture, carbon. Carbon. Ash. Sulphur. 

 Cardiff No. 1.. .. 15.81 27.07 51.19 5.44 0.49 

 Cardiff No. 2 or 



Boulder 18.2 28.2 46.6 6.4 



Collie Burn No 1 15.72 30.0 49.51 4.17 0.60 

 Collie Burn No. 2 14.0 23.9 59.5 2.6 

 Wallsend (Proprie- 

 tary) 14.36 27.03 51.64 6.66 0.31 



The spc. grav. is about 1.3. 



