Appendix B to the report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the condition of all mines in Great Britain to which the provisions of the Act 23 & 24 Vict. Cap. 151 do not apply, with reference to the health and safety of persons employed in such mines. / Presented to both houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty.

Great Britain. Royal Commission on Mines

Date:: 1864

Credit: Appendix B to the report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the condition of all mines in Great Britain to which the provisions of the Act 23 & 24 Vict. Cap. 151 do not apply, with reference to the health and safety of persons employed in such mines. / Presented to both houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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$by hand at the critical moment. The break-handle may possibly have slipped into, or it may have been placed in, the sprinfT-catch after the men started; and if so. Wall would hardly ha\'c been able to release it \;dth sufficient rapidity. It was found to he out of the notch of the catch after the accident; but it would ])robably have been jerked out of it. in any case, by the \'ery violent blow which the truck received when it came into collision with the timbers near the 190 fathom level. I'ortions of the truck, which is very strongly constructed, were slightly bent by this blow ; and the spring did not act upon the break, when I inspected the truck, as well as it is represented to have done before the accident; but the apparatus still worked perfectly, and with immediate effect, when the break was applied by hand. I tested it near the 1()5 fathom level, to ascertain whether this was the case, with some portions of the chain in it, equal in weight, as nearly as I could judge, to the nine indu'iduals who then lost their lives. Jn order, as far as possible, to prevent an accident of this description from again occurring, it appears to be desirable that the following precautions should be adopted :— In the first place a wire rope, to be wound regularly round a suitable drum, should be substituted for the chain which has hitherto been coiled so unsatisfactorily upon the existing cage. 2. It would not be difficult to provide at the 190 fathom level, a tramway on a rising gradient, on which any vehicle that Ijreaks away on the incline may reduce its speed before being brought to a stand. o. The catch-spring should be removed from the side of the truck, to prevent the possibility of the break-handle being caught in the notch with which it is provided, when it may be wanted for immediate use. The break-handle would then require to be held back by hand as the truck descended the incline ; and a breaksman would be wanted to accompany the truck in going down as well as in coming up the incline. 4. A second break of the same description might be added to the present truck, in order that a double means of security might be afforded. 5. A regular breaksman should be employed to accom- pany the truck up and down on every journey that it makes, who should act under strict regulations, and should be responsible for the control of the break-handle, and for not allowing undue speed, or over crowding, or any irregu- larities in the working of the incline. The last precaution is, I think, peculiarly imjjortant. Miners, and other men who necessarily incur more than ordinary risk, are liable to become exceedingly reckless, and require to be kept under constant control. It is not safe to entrust to these men, at hap-hazard, the working of a break such as that now referred to. The breaksman's own life, as well as the lives of others, depend upon an act being instantaneously performed, which may not be re- quired for years, or which may be required, on the failure of the chain or rope, at any moment. Thomas Wall is stated to have been a steady as well as an experienced man ; but there can be no doubt that this accident would not have occurred if he had exercised full care in the work- ing of the break-handle that he was temporarily in charge of; and the constant employment of a responsible breaks- man is obviously the means by which proper attention to this very important duty can best be secured. I have the honour to be. Your Lordship's obedient servant, H. W. Tyler, The Right Honourable Capt. Royal Engineers, Lord Kinnaird, K.T., &c. &c. &c. Sir, Camborne, Cornwall, 22d April 1863. In obedience with the instructions received from the Right Hon. Lord Kinnaird, I have visited Botallack Mine, at St. Just, and inquired into the circumstances attending tne fatal accident which occurred on Saturday last, the 18th instant. I also attended the inquest held upon the bodies, yesterday the 21st instant, the short-hand writer's notes of the evidence given being appended, and beg leave now to submit my report upon the same. I have the honor to be. Sir, Your obedient servant, A. H. Wylie, Esq. Chas. Twite. Botallack Mine is situated in the parish of St. Just, about 8 miles west of Penzance. It is one of the oldest as well as one of the largest mines in Cornwall, employing about 350 men and boys underground, and 200 men, boys, and girls on the surface. The ores raised are tin and copper. The mine is divided into 200 shares, and is under the management of S. H. James, Esquire, Captains Henry and John Boyns, and Captain John Rowe, resident engineer. The underground operations are carried on at three distinct parts of the mine, viz.. Crown's part, Huel Hazard, and Huel Cock. It was in the Crown's part that the accident occurred. The Crown's part is situated on the coast, and is worked to a depth of 200 fathoms, and the levels are driven up- wards of 200 fathoms in length under the bed of the sea. This part of the mine has returned vast qiiantities of copper ore, and is still a very valuable portion of the property. It was worked from Pearce's Shaft, which is situated upon a ledge of rock al)0ut 30 fathoms above low water, and 40 fathoms below the top of the cliff. This shaft ia sunk down, and the levels driven from it. But as the copper ore was dipping away at a considerable angle from this shaft, at e\'ery succeeding level in depth the length to be driven before meeting with the ore became greater and greater; and as the rock through which these levels had to be driven was very hard, the expense of working became very great; and as the men were a long way from the shaft without any other opening to surface, the ventila- tion became very defective. To remedy these evils, a new shaft was sunk from an adjoining ledge of rock, which has followed the course of the ore, and so obviated the driving of such long levels, and has restored the ventilation to a proper state. This shaft is called the Boscawen Shaft and also the Inclined Shaft. It is carried down to the 196 fathom level, and is still being sunk deeper. It makes an angle of 325° with the horizontal; but as the common way in Cornwall is to measure from the vertical, the angle in this case is 571°, or, in the language of the miners, it dips or underlays 5 feet per fathom (the sine of the angle giving the amount of dip). It is carried through greenstone rock, and is 363 fathoms in length to where it cuts the 196 fathom level. The size of the shaft varies, the smallest being about 5 feet by 6. While the angle of inclination remains the same, viz. 32°, the angle of direction varies, there being nine changes. The greatest amount of variation is at the 80 fathom level, where it amounts to 224°. The shaft is laid with a single line of railway on longi- tudinal sleepers of red pine, 7i inches by 2|, with cross pieces every 5 feet; the width between the rails, which are T rails, being 2 feet 74 inches. At those parts of the shaft where a change in the angle of direction occurs, angle rolls are placed; four of these are placed at the 80. I append a plan of those at the 33 fathom level. The ore is raised in an iron waggon weighing 8 cwt., and will hold about 16 cwt. of stuff. It is drawn to surface by a single linked iron chain, varying in size, it being •j-§ths of an inch diameter for 100 fathoms in length, weighing 264 lbs. per fathoms, then y^ths for 100 fathoms, and weighing 214 lbs., while the remainder 200 fathoms was xgths, and weighs 174 lbs. per fathom. The chain was made expressly for this purpose, invoiced of best charcoal iron, and warranted to bear a strain of 44 tons. The whim engine is a single-acting condensing engine; the chain is wound upon itself on the winding cage. It has been the habit, since this shaft has been in use, for the men to ride up and down to and from their work, in a special carriage provided and used for this purpose. This carriage, or gig as it is called, is made of iron, 6 feet 10 inches long, 2 feet 5 inches wide, and 20 inches deep. It is furnished with 4 seats, and would hold 8 men. It is provided with a safety catch, which is intended to be self-acting while the gig is ascending the shaft, and is formed and worked as follows :—Under the gig and attached to the bottom is a very strong and powerful steel spiral spring, to which is attached an iron rod moveable in a groove, with a loop at the other end, to which the chain is attached which draws the gig. This iron rod will move backwards and forwards, according to the difference between the tension of the chain and the elasticity of the spring. Connected with the iron rod, by a system of levers and link work, are two sets of eccentric cams, consisting of two each, which, projecting downwards from the bottom of the gig, are on a level with the hollow part of the rails on which the wheels of the gig run, and so arranged that while the chain is tight the iron rod is moved forward, and the cams kept clear from the rails ; but when the chain slackens, either by surging or breaking, the spring acts, draws the rod back- wards, and causes the cams to grip the rails, and to hold the gig immoveable. This power of the springs and cams has been tested on several occasions, and found to answer, j$

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