MINING PRACTICE. 



23 



CHAPTER III. 



MINING PRACTICE. 



Development and Stoping. — The mines are developed by 

 shafts, levels and winzes. With the exception of the first hundred 

 feet or more the shafts are on the underlie of the vein. From them 

 levels are driven off at intervals of about loo feet. The ore-body is 

 then blocked out for stoping by making winze-connections between 

 the levels at every 100 to 200 feet. On the average, there is one 

 shaft to every 500 feet of ground, measured along the strike of the 

 vein. This seems an unnecessarily large number; but many of 

 them were sunk during the early exploration of the mines and have 

 not been continued below the upper levels. 



The shafts at present in use on the four principal mines are as 

 follows : — 



Name of property. 



Length of pro- 

 perty along 

 out-crop. 



Number of 



shafts in 



use. 



New vertical 

 shafts now 

 being sunk. 



Mysore ..... 



7> 6 5o 



9 



I 



Champion Reef 



3,600 



6 



I 



Ooregum ..... 



3.360 



5 



I 



Nundydroog .... 



3,230 



5 



I 



The dimensions of the shafts within timbers are 5 by 10, 6 by 12, 

 5 by 14, 6 by 14, 6 by i6|, and 8 by 16 feet, according to the various 

 requirements of the different mines. The smaller ones are divided 

 into three compartments, viz., two skip-ways and a third compartment 

 for ladder- way and pit-work, if pumping is carried on in the shaft; 

 the larger shafts are usually divided as regards the vertical portions 

 into eight compartments, namely, two cage-roads, two skip-roads, 

 two ladder-ways, one capstan-shaft (for lowering bigbalks of timber 



