174 RANIGANJ COAL FIELD. [Pt. II. CHAP. IL 



methods of extraction and the use of machinery must be resorted to 



for the purpose of economizing it. 



The mines of Raniganj enjoy all the advantages of a new district 



., , c -o- • which has as yet scarcely been tapped. Many 



Advantages of Ram- J J rr J 



ganj district. highly productive seams of coal, doubtless, re- 



main as yet undiscovered, and a large proportion of the field has not 

 even been explored for mining purposes. Borings are now being 

 made pretty generally in the vicinity of the mines, but formerly they 

 were neglected to an absurd extent ; so much so, that several cases have 

 occurred, in which pits were sunk, an engine house and the other 

 necessary buildings erected, without the existence of coal having been 

 proved, and, naturally, in some cases,* in places where no coal existed 

 within such depths as have hitherto alone been worked. But far more 

 remains to be done in this way, before the area, over which the seams 

 extend, can be known. 



The advantages of a new and rich district are numerous. The 



abundance of the mineral, near the surface of 



Small cost of pits. 



the ground, renders deep pits unnecessary, hence 



a great saving of expense in sinking pits and in raising the coal; in 



machinery for pumping, &c. Another advantage of perhaps equal 



importance is the absence of fire-damp, and the small number of 



old and abandoned workings. Immunity from 

 Absence of fire-damp. 



these risks is probably of far greater importance 



in India than in Europe, since it should be remembered that, careless 



and ignorant as are the miners in English collieries, it is absurd to 



compare them with a race like Bhauris or Santhals. Unquestionably, 



were a mine worked in which fire-damp proved abundant, numerous 



accidents might be feared. And, although there is none or nearly none, 



in the shallow mines at present working, there is no certainty that 



the working will be equally free from that same danger, when, 



* Babiisol, Sathakpur, Kalastori, &c. 



