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	Louis Frost Sydney	Dominion No. 1B		Dominion No. 1A	Dominion No. 2

The Louis Frost Notes 1685 to 1962 Dominion No. 1B Colliery Phalen Seam The Colliery was started on the Phalen Seam in June 1924, to work the submarine extension of No. 1-A Colliery. The hoisting shaft, 3l'2" x 13'4", located within 55 yards of the shore, is 670 feet deep and was sunk in 1923. The air and man hoisting shaft, sunk in 1922, is 12 feet in diameter and is connected to an auxiliary air shaft 16 ft. in diameter, 225 feet deep, sunk in 1946 to the Harbour Seam. The ventilating unit consists of a Sirocco type fan capable of delivering 400,000 cu. ft. of air per minute, driven by a 1200 horsepower synchronous motor. There is also an 800 horsepower direct coupled motor available as a standby unit, which can deliver 230,000 cu. ft. of air per minute. At present the fan is delivering 250,000 cu. ft. of air against a water gauge of 12.5 inches. The mine can be classed as gassy. The seam is 7 feet thick, clean coal, and suitable for metallurgical purposes. The roof is shale and requires close timbering. The floor consists of moderately hard shale. The entire working area is submarine and prior to 1937 was worked entirely on a pillar and room system. The percentage of extraction did not exceed forty-four %. During the operating life of the rooms in the Phalen Seam, the coal was cut by Ingersol-Rand Radial mining machines and drilled with Ingersol-Rand hammer drills, operated by compressed air. In 1937 longwall mining with approximately 90% extraction was started below the 1,000 ft. cover line and continued until operations in the Phalen Seam were temporarily discontinued on June 30th, 1955. Total output obtained prior to this date amounted to 17,022,961 long tons, with a maximum daily average of 3,285 tons in the year 1939. The mine cars have a 36-inch gauge and prior to 1958 were of wood-steel construction with a capacity of 2.05 long tons. Since that date there has been a gradual change over to aluminum cars with a capacity of 2.9 short tons. The haulage system in the Phalen Seam consists of a trolley locomotive haulageway in intake air, and 3-1/2 miles (18,300 feet) long. Side walls of stone gunited, or concrete have been built throughout its entire length. The roof is supported on steel booms. In 1942 a cross measure tunnel 2,000 feet long was driven from the trolley locomotive haulageway in the Phalen Seam at a point 2.6 miles from the shaft to the Harbour Seam, lying 428 feet overhead. The dip workings prior to 1947 were served by two main drop hoist haulage deeps, No. 5 Deep located 2 miles (10,500 ft.) and No. 7 Deep, 3-1/2 miles, from the shaft. Each of these deeps was equipped with an electric hoist developing 1100 and 1800 horsepower respectively. In 1947 in consequence of a greater demand for Harbour Seam coal, the colliery was reorganized and No. 7 Deep discontinued so as to provide 40% of the output from the Harbour Seam and the balance from No. 5 Deep. As No. 5 Deep had reached a distance of 9,800 feet from the motor level and was the haulage tributary for No. 5 Auxiliary Deep, the 1800 horsepower hoist from No. 7 Deep was installed on No. 5 Deep and No. 5 Deep hoist transferred to the Harbour Seam and equipped with an 1800 horsepower motor. In 1955 the demand for Harbour Seam coal for metallurgical use necessitated expansion of facilities in the Harbour Seam tributary to this mine and mining in the Phalen Seam was discontinued until some future date when there will be a demand for this type of coal. Plans have been prepared for projected workings in the Phalen Seam to take care of this eventuality. In 1952, prior to discontinuing work in the Phalen Seam, a measure of mechanization was introduced and six DOSCO continuous miners were installed in No. 5 Deep. The make of water is 50 gallons per minute, but all the water in No. 1-A and No. 5 Collieries is pumped from No. 1-B pumping plant. This plant is located near the shaft bottom and consists of two Sulzer pumps of 1250 g.p.m. capacity each. The water is impounded in an abandoned section in No. 1-A and is led through a 14" cast iron line to the pumps, which are situated 74 feet below the lodgment. Surface Plant The bankhead is of steel and concrete with 22,400 square feet of floor space. There are two Allis Chalmers vibrating screens 6 feet wide x 12 feet long and picking belts, each with a capacity of 375 tons per hour, making slack, screened or run-of-mine coal. There are also provisions for making "Pea" coal, should this be required. There are three revolving tipples, two used in connection with the output and one for stone. There are three electrically driven compressors with combined capacity of 10,600 cubic feet of free air. The main hoist has a double drum, each of a bicylindro-conical type, geared to a 1600 H.P., AC 2200 volt slip ring motor. The rope is 2 inches in diameter. Coal is hoisted on single-deck platform cages, taking two cars side by side. All buildings are of concrete, Van Guilder type of construction. The original steam driven equipment at the colliery was replaced in 1949 and all services are now electrically operated, the power being transmitted from the power plant at a pressure of 66oo volts. The hoist which handles men and material through a circular intake air shaft, 12 ft. 0 ins. in diameter, is a double drum cylindrical type geared to a 300 horsepower, A.C., 550 volt electric slip ring motor. This shaft can be used as an escape shaft for No. 2 Colliery. Explosion doors are placed on a roadway penetrating the barrier, isolating the two mines. The present boiler plant supplies only steam for the wash-house and heating system. This consists of two - 100 horsepower capacity Matheson boilers. The present output is 4200 tons per day on two shifts, but the rated output capacity is 5,000 tons of coal per day. It is estimated that this colliery has tributary to it sufficient coal to give it a life of over 80 years from the Hub, Harbour and Phalen seams. To date, the worked over area amounts to 2,882 acres.

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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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