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	Louis Frost Sydney	Dominion No. 16		Dominion No. 15	Dominion No. 17

The Louis Frost Notes 1685 to 1962 Dominion No. 16 Colliery Lingan Seam The colliery was located on the Lingan Seam at New Waterford and was opened in 1911 through slopes from the outcrop. The workings were submarine and, while originally the room and pillar system of mining was practiced, the colliery at the time of closure operated completely on the longwall system of mining. The seam is 5 ft. 2 ins. thick. The coal is suitable for metallurgical purposes and was considered an excellent steam coal. The roof consists of a very weak shale and the pavement is also of shale. The mine was gassy and was ventilated by two electrically driven fans operated in parallel with a common intake, and exhaust fans located at the surface on the return airways. The East side fan was located on the East Return Airway at No. 16 Colliery and was a Sheldon Axivane type fan with a rated capacity of 100,000 cu.ft. per minute at a water gauge of 10.3 inches. The fan serving the West side of the mine was located at No.18 Colliery exhausting the air from the West Return Airway near the flanks of the West side workings. This was a 2-stage Axial flow type fan with a rated capacity of 100,000 cu. ft. per minute at a water gauge of 12 ins.. Two booster fans, one at each side of the mine, were used to assist the ventilation of the active workings. The method of work was longwall advancing with shaker conveyors on the faces. The coal was cut and bored with compressed air driven coal cutters and Ingersoll Rand hammer drills. The make of water of the mine was 80 gallons per minute. The water was not acidulous. Coal was hauled in steel 2-ton capacity cars by electric engines and Diesel locomotives. The main haulage on the surface was driven by 1500 H.P. A/C motor at 6600 volts. One trip consisted of 26 cars and the length of haul was 7000 feet from the surface. The motive power underground was compressed air. This was used for cutting, boring and auxiliary pumping. Main pumps and level haulages were electrically operated. The compressed air was delivered from a 3100 ft. compressor located at the colliery and supplemented by compressed air from No. 12 Colliery. The compressed air system of the two New Waterford collieries was interconnected by a borehole located at No. 3 Landing in No. 16 Colliery. The compressed air lines consisted of 15,450 feet of 12" and 10" pipe. Surface Plant The surface plant was entirely electrically operated. Only one boiler for heating purposes was in operation. The bankhead was a wooden structure and was equipped with revolving tipples and Marcus screens, making slack, screened and run-of-mine coal. The total coal mined since the colliery was opened until Aug. 3rd, 1962, when it was closed, amounted to 18,050,900 long tons. The area worked over was 3,840 acres (6.00 square miles). The daily average output was 2600 tons. On October 6, 1952 a serious fire occurred, resulting in closure of the East side of the colliery until January 1953. The apparent cause was a blown out shot in the pavement brushing, which ignited a feeder in the roof. After persistent attempts were made to contain the fire, the East side of the mine was sealed off on October 10th. An inspection on October 12th to examine the fire seals showed that an explosion had occurred and the top stopping had been blown out. The seals were replaced and this section held idle until the fire was extinguished.

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Last Modified: 98-01-05

Authored by: Louis Frost

IMPORTANT
The information contained on this site is not provided for the purpose of factual
representation. Instead, it is provided in an historical context. Every effort has
been made to ensure that this information represents the actual content of the
original document authored by Louis Frost for the Dominion Coal Company
on or around 1962. Nevertheless, no warranties are provided in any respect.

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