The Raniganj and Jharia Coalfields are situated in the Provinces of Bengal and Bihar and Orissa respectively, and are responsible for the greater portion of the annual coal output of India. The Coal Measures are found in the Damuda Series, which are divided into the Raniganj or Upper Coal-pleasures and the Barakar or Lower Coal Measures. There are many seams, varying in thickness from 4 to 120 feet, the majority of which are intersected with bands of shale or stone. The seams have an excellent roof and floor, but are disturbed by igneous intrusions or dykes, which often render large areas of coal unworkable. due to the presence of burnt or "jhama" coal. The rate and the direction of the dip of the seams are variable. The coal is bituminous, and for commercial purposes it is graded into first, second, and third class. The coal, is won by (1) quarries, (2) inclines or day-drifts, and (3) shafts.
In quarry working the overburden usually consists either of alluvial deposits or of soft shale, and is removed by the coolies and their womenfolk, who work by contract. The coal is cut by the miner and loaded into baskets of a capacity of about 3/4 cwt.; it is carried by the womenfolk or boys to the loading siding in the quarry, and from there the tubs are hauled to the surface depot. The tubs vary in capacity from 24 to 36 cubic feet, but the average can be taken as 30 cubic feet, or 13 1/2 cwts.
Where inclines are being worked, it is a general practice as the workings extend to the dip to sink shafts for the purpose of ventilation, and in a number of instances for winding coal.
The majority of the shafts are shallow, only a few being deeper than 700 feet, and as the strata are generally very strong, the shaft-sides are dressed down to the required diameter and left unlined except for the pit-head.
As most mines are free from gas, the miners work with naked lights, safety-lamps of an approved type being used only in the gassy mines. Generally speaking, the mines are damp, and the ventilation is effected naturally, assisted by exhaust-steam from underground haulages and pumps. Fans are in use at only a few collieries. The daily statutory inspection of the underground workings is made by a native, generally known as the "sirdar," who has to be very carefully watched in the performance of his duties, as he is neither trustworthy nor reliable. The manager and assistant manager make their inspections in compliance with the Indian Coal Mines Act.
The general method of working underground is by bord and pillar; in only a very few cases is the coal worked on the longwall system. In the workings the bords are driven 10 to 20 feet wide and the pillars are left from 40 feet square upwards, according to the depth, nature, and thickness of the coal and whether the pillars are being left to provide for the second working or only as a support for the first working.
In seams less than 30 feet thick the galleries are driven in one section of the seam, either the roof or the floor coal being left until the galleries have advanced a convenient distance, when the miners cut the floor coal and blast down the roof coal. Seams over 30 feet in thickness are generally worked in sections (Figs. 1 and 2), all the galleries being superimposed. A parting is left between the sections to form the roof or the floor of the galleries, and also as a strengthening bond for the pillars. Roof coal is often left in the sections and is blasted down by the Central Provinces miners, country powder and fuse being used in the naked-light mines. These miners drill their holes, charge and fire the shots, and examine the roof immediately after each blast. In mines using safety-lamps, an electrically-fired explosive is used and shot-firers are appointed, as the Central Provinces miners under these conditions do not fire their own shots. In this first working practically no timber is used, owing to the exceptionally good roof.
After the first working is finished, the extraction of pillars is commenced. (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4). In some of the older mines the pillars were left more as a support than to provide for the second working, and large areas have been crushed and buried after only a few pillars have been extracted The timber used for supporting the roof during the extraction of the pillars is known as "sal," and is in lengths up to 24 feet and of a diameter of 8 or 9 inches. No packing is done except at the few collieries where sand-stowing is in vogue, but this system can only be said to be in the experimental stage. Owing to the exceptionally good roof, a great number of pillars can be extracted before the roof will break and fall. As the mines are shallow, de-pillaring operations increase the "come" of water, especially during the monsoon period, and in consequence this entails heavy pumping. A number of collieries during this period are flooded out through the increased flow of water from the subsidences caused by pillar-extraction.
Various methods are used in the extraction of the pillars, dependant on their size, the thickness of the coal, and the amount of cover. In seams up to 24 feet thick the pillars are extracted by "lifts " from 9 to 15 feet wide driven parallel to the galleries and working towards the goaf. Timber is set and withdrawn by special men appointed under the Indian Coal Mines Act. For seams above 24 feet in thickness, a gallery up to 10 feet in width and up to 20 feet in height is driven into the pillar towards the goaf, thus splitting the pillar and forming a roof for the setting-up of timber. This is necessary where in the first working the full section of the seam has been extracted. After the gallery is driven through the pillar and the timber is set, the work of extraction by " lifts " is then proceeded with. As far as possible the extraction of pillars and the setting of timber are carried out in a systematic manner, and after the timber has been withdrawn fences are put up on the -oaf side of all working pillars.
A few collieries have introduced coal-cutting machines, from the puncher to the latest chain-driven machine. Compressed air is the motive power for those of the puncher type and electricity for the others. The native has taken kindly to the working of these machines, which are doing good work. The greatest difficulty is to clear the coal as cut rapidly enough to allow the machines to be constantly on a circle or round of cuts.
The coal, whether cut by the miner, or blasted down by the Central Provinces miner, or got in a machine-cut gallery, is filled by the womenfolk or boys into baskets of a capacity of about 4 cwt., and is carried to the tubs lying in the loading sidings. These sidings are placed as conveniently as possible on the main levels to serve a number of working places, as only in one or two instances are the tubs taken direct into the working-places. When the tubs are filled, they are hauled either by the miner or the trammer along the levels to the turn-outs on the main dips or rises. From these turn-outs the tubs are either lowered from the rise workings by jigs or are hauled by steam or electric haulers from the main dips to the shaft-level, and then hand-hauled to the pit-bottom.
This is the general method in India of getting the coal from the working-place to the pit-bottom, although some of the older collieries have no mechanical haulage whatever, the tubs being hand-Hauled for the whole distance. In some of the newer collieries endless-rope or slow-running main-and-tail-rope haulage has been installed for feeding the coal from the main jigs and dips to the pit-bottom. One must bear in mind that the average area of coal mined from one opening in India is very small as compared with English practice.
The general method of winding the coal from the pit-bottom to the surface is by single-deck cages carrying one or two tubs in tandem fashion. There are one or two collieries which wind the tubs slung on chains attached to the winding-rope, with a running-bridge at the surface to receive the tubs for conveyance to the surface tramline. The winding-engines are of various types, from the single steam-driven geared engine to the latest electric winder. The native winders or "khalassies " have proved themselves fairly competent in handling the winding-engines, especially the direct steam-driven and electric winders. For the electrical plant some collieries generate their own electricity whilst others take it from the power supply companies, one station being at Dishegarh in the Raniganj field and the other at Sijua in the Jharia held.
Very few collieries are fitted out for mechanically screening, grading, or loading the coal direct into wagons, and as it reaches the surface it is dumped on the ground and loaded by hand into the railway-wagons. There are no weighing-machines at the pit-heads, the daily output being calculated from the total number of tubs raised and their carrying capacity. A very strict watch has to be kept on the native who records the number of tubs raised daily, as by devious ways he can report above the actual number raised, and if the colliery is carrying any quantity of stock a loss is found on clearing. The coal is sorted into steam, rubble. and slack, and for despatching any of these sizes wagons are indented for from the railway company under authorization for class of supply.
The railway company supplies the wagons to the colliery loading-siding and withdraws them, after the loading time has elapsed, to the marshalling-yards, where they are weighed; the weighments are then sent to the colliery office, as there are no weighbridges at the collieries. Fig. 5 is a plan of the surface lay-out at a modern Indian colliery.
As the native is primarily an agriculturist, and only becomes a miner by force of circumstances, the question of obtaining an adequate labour supply forms one of the biggest problems which a colliery manager in India has to face. The miners are recruited from different districts, either by the colliery recruiting staff or by a labour contractor. The colliery companies provide the miners with free houses and medical treatment, pay their travelling expenses to and from their country at certain periods, provide plots of land for cultivation when available, give monetary gifts or "bucksheesh" on the occasion of births, weddings, funerals, and the celebration of "pujahs" or religious festivals, and endeavour to make their working conditions as elastic as possible. The Indian miner prefers a long easy shift, to begin and end at his inclination. He is generally idle and thriftless, and any extra "bucksheesh" or increase in rate only causes him to stay away from work until all his money is gone. He has no idea of sanitation; consequently epidemics of cholera and other infectious diseases occur with dire results. This matter is, however, now being dealt with by the Mines Board of Health, and the present conditions show a decided improvement on those of fifteen years ago. Figs. 6 to 8 are illustrations of the "dowrahs" or colliery houses provided for the natives.
Some collieries do all the work from getting the coal to despatching it by "sircary " (i.e., the colliery manager recruits all labour and makes payment direct to the employees); others employ contractors, who supply the labour and are paid a tonnage rate on all the coal cut by the miners, or employ contractors who `work the whole colliery on a tonnage rate paid on the amount of coal despatched. In all cases the actual miner works on contract at a tub rate, as also the underground and surface trammers and the surface loading coolies. The remainder of the employees are paid "hazree," or a daily wage. Sirdars, mechanics, engine khalassies, etc., are usually paid a monthly salary. These rates and wages differ all over the coalfields, and this helps to make the labour question at one colliery more difficult than at another.
The accompanying appendices give (1) the rates of pay in vogue at the working collieries of which I was manager, and (2) the rates paid at the new pits and sinkings.
The annual output of coal from these two fields is 18,000,000 tons, with an approximate output of 110 tons per person employed. In the very near future, owing to the development that is taking place, this output should be practically doubled, but great consideration will have to be given to the labour question and to machine-mining.
No. 1 Colliery.
A raising contractor was employed and was paid Rs.l/12/0 per ton up to 3,500 tons per month, and for every 1,000 tons per month increase an extra anna per ton was paid. The contractor found the oil for the safety-lamps, the handles and shoes for the picks, the baskets, and made payment to all miners, trammers, onsetters, banksmen, loading coolies, winding-enginemen, and firemen (excepting those employed at the pumping shaft).
No. 2 Colliery.
A raising contractor was employed and was paid Rs.2/12/0 per ton irrespective of the output. The contractor supplied all stores and made payments as quoted for No. 1 colliery, with the addition of payment to Central Provinces miners, for explosives and fuse, and for lubricating-oil.
No. 3 Colliery.
This was an open quarry, and a raising and an earth-cutting contractor were employed.
The raising contractor was paid Rs.l/8,/0 per ton, and supplied stores and made payments as quoted for No. 1 colliery.
The earth-cutting contractor was paid Rs.12/8/0 per 1,000 cubic feet of earth removed, and provided all picks, kodalies, baskets, and the necessary labour.
Where a raising contractor was employed, he supplied all the necessary labour, and was paid on all coal as despatched.
Wages as paid for Work done by the Employees.
Miners: Rs.0/7/6 per tub of 30 cubic feet capacity and Rs.0/0/6 per tub commission per week.
Trammers: Rs.0/1/0 to Rs.0/1/6 per tub contract.
Loading coolies (surface): Rs.0/2/0 per toil contract.
Enginemen: Rs.17/8/0 per month.
Firemen: Rs.17/8/0 per month.
Onsetters and banksmen: Rs.0/10/0 per day.
Pumpmen: Rs.16 to Rs.17/8/0 per month.
Sirdars or deputies: Rs.19/0/0 per month.
Nammins or female labour: Rs.0/5/6 to Rs.0/6/0 per day.
Tramline mistris or platelayers: Rs.19 per month and Rs.0/10/0 per day.
Coolie labour: Rs.0/8/3 to Rs.0/12/0 per day.
Head fitter: Rs.50 to Rs.70 per month.
Assistant fitters: Rs.30 to Rs.45 per month.
Carpenters: Rs.20 to Rs.45 per month. ,
Main gallery driving: Rs.l to Rs.2/4/0 per linear foot, the gallery being driven 6 feet by 4 feet and the company supplying all labour for clearing the coal away and for bailing water.
Dyke cutting : Rs.10 to Rs.15 per linear foot, the company supplying explosives and all labour for clearing away the dEbris and for bailing.
A contractor was employed for the sinking and was paid Rs.71 per foot for 300 feet and Rs.81 per foot from 300 to 550 feet. The contractor, supplied all labour and paid the stone-cutters, chargemen, trolleymen, and windingenginemen, and supplied all explosives and tools excepting hammer-drills. The above rates were for sinking two shafts 16 feet in diameter, with either power or hand-drilling.
Stone-cutters: Rs.0/14/0 to Rs.l/4/0 per day.
Chargemen: Rs.l/8/0 to Rs.2/8/0 per day.
Winding-enginemen: Rs.25 per month, working direct steam-driven winding engines.
Firemen (Lascars): Rs.22 per month.
Tindal or boiler foreman: Rs.30 per month.
Compressor attendant: Rs.18 per month.
Pumpmen: Rs.16 to Rs.20 per month.
Blacksmith: Rs.45 to Rs.60 per month.
Coal-cutting-machine men: Rs.l/8/0 to Rs.3/0/0 per day.
Drillers: Rs.l/8/0 to Rs.2/8/0 per day.
Labour loading machine-cut coal: Rs.0/ 5/0 to Rs.0/5/6 per tub of 30 cubic feet capacity.
Note.-12 pies=1 arena, 16 arenas=1 rupee, 1 rupee=ls. 4d. sterling.
Mr. R. F. PERCY (Nottingham) : With reference to the extraordinary "dowrahs" in which the men live, I gather from Figs. 6 to 8 that they are apparently mere caves, with what should be the open end closed up. There is no ventilation, no fireplace, no window, and altogether they seem to be most extraordinary places for miners to live in.
Mr. F. N. WOODHEAD (Nottingham) : The Indian miner is taken more or less from the aboriginal class of India, and in his own natural state lives in a mud but of less dimensions than these "dowrahs." There is only one door; in the cooler months that doorway is fastened up, and he will have a charcoal fire burning inside day and night. The dowrahs as shown in the plan (Fig. 8) are built of brickwork, and one or two bricks are left out for purposes of ventilation.
Mr. B. McLAREN (Pye Hill): What thickness are the dykes in general? And what is the width of the burnt coal? It would also be interesting to know whether any space is found between the burnt coal and the dyke.
Mr. WOODHEAD: In running through the coalfield the dykes are not of constant thickness. They vary from mere inches up to a hundred or more feet thick. We usually decide on the thickness of the dyke when passing through the "jhama" coal, allowing 2 feet of "jhama" coal for every foot of dyke. There are no empty spaces between the "jhama" coal and the dyke; the strata comprise one solid conglomerate mass.
The PRESIDENT (Sir Charles Seely, Bart.): A country where a colliery deputy is paid only 25s. per month is one very different from our own, but it is interesting to learn how the mines are worked. The paper has a special interest for me-for two reasons: first, because I knew Air. Woodhead when he was much shorter than he is now, his father having been an old and valued friend and servant of mine; and, secondly, because I went to this identical colliery myself some years ago. I was shown a face of coal 90 feet high, and was asked: " How would you work that coal if you got below the surface? " I said that, speaking for myself, I should go on taking the top off as long as I could, and judging by what Mr. Woodhead states my advice has been followed, and they are still taking off the top.
Mr. G. A. LONGDEN (Draycott): I think the district described by Mr. Woodhead is to be congratulated on the increase in tonnage. Not long ago the output was only 2,000,000 tons, and now, we are told, it is 18,000,000 tons per annum.
