﻿COMPOSTELA-DANAO COAL FIELD. 399 



changed hands again and are controlled by the Insular Coal Company, 

 which is now in the field carrying on exploratory work. 



Operations. — It will be sufficient at the present time to state that two 

 companies, of which the Insular Coal Company is one and the other a 

 New York syndicate, are vigorously investigating these fields ; the Insular 

 Coal Company in the Mount Licos and Camansi regions, the latter in 

 the Cajumayjumayan Valley. As both these companies seem to be very 

 much in earnest and backed by responsible men who command consider- 

 able capital, we should obtain as a result of their investigations a far 

 more thorough knowledge of these fields than we now have. 



The district is one in which the geology is very complicated but not 

 more so, it is believed, than that of other coal-bearing areas of the 

 Archipelago. It certainly has some features possessing advantages over 

 other parts of the Island of Cebu, although coal may be found in almost 

 all districts of the island. 



COAL SEAMS. 



The three fields at present being developed are rather limited, but 

 amply sufficient for a considerable production of coal. Various estimates 

 have been made of the possible tonnage, some of which are founded on 

 guesswork and are very wild. A very conservative estimate would be 

 2,000,000 workable tons in the Cajumayjumayan valley and two to four 

 million in the combined Mount Licos and Camansi fields. The coal 

 seams are rather highly inclined, from 30° to 90°, which would necessitate 

 some system like the "Battery" being employed. The proper drainage 

 of the workings will be a serious factor. Both the roof and floor are 

 weak, the floor being of shale and fire clay, and the roof of shale or friable 

 sandstone. Great care will need to be taken in timbering. There will 

 also be increased expense for timber, because the greater part of it will 

 need to be brought from some distance, probably from another island (see 

 Forester Everett's timber report in the first part of this paper, p. 384). 

 Methods for preservation of mine timbers must be devised. However, 

 when molave is used the timbers will last for many years ; in fact I have 

 examined such timbers which were for nearly ten years completely buried 

 in loose earth in the "Enrique Abella" tunnel and they were perfectly 

 sound. It must be remembered that timber does not last underground 

 proportionately as long in the tropics as in higher latitudes. Forepoling 

 and lagging will be necessary in the shafting and drifts. 



There is evidence of considerable minor faulting, but probably none 

 which will seriously affect mining operations. There are five known 

 coal seams, at least three of which should be profitable; two of these are 

 over ten feet thick in one part of the field. The 'following beds were 

 encountered at Mount Licos, from west to east, that is from lowest to 

 highest : 



1. The "Carmen;" thickness 1.60 meters, strike NE.-SW., dip 30' 

 SE. ; 40 meters interval. 



